Hanoi (VNA) – The 42nd ASEAN Summit concluded on May11 after three days of meetings, with leaders approving many documents in allthree key pillars of political security, economy, and socioculture.

The 10 documents approved at the summit include the ASEANLeaders’ Declaration on Developing Regional Electric Vehicle Ecosystem; ASEANLeaders’ Declaration on One Health Initiative; ASEAN Leaders’ Declaration onAdvancing Regional Payment Connectivity and Promoting Local CurrencyTransaction; and ASEAN Leaders’ Declaration on Combating Trafficking in PersonsCaused by The Abuse of Technology.

The leaders passed the ASEAN Declaration on The Protectionof Migrant Workers and Family Members in Crisis Situations; ASEAN Declarationon The Placement and Protection of Migrant Fishers; ASEAN Leaders JointStatement on The Establishment of an ASEAN Villages Network; and a roadmap foradmission of Timor Leste as an official member of ASEAN.

They also adopted ASEAN Leaders’ Statement on The Development of The ASEANCommunity’s Post-2025 Vision, which aims to promote strong, comprehensive andinclusive growth and settle challenges inside and outside the region in thenext 20 years.

The ASEAN Leaders’ Statement on Strengthening ASEAN’sCapacity and Institutional Effectiveness was also approved at the summit,reaffirming the commitment of ASEAN leaders to make efforts to maintain centrality, unity and relevance amid the challenges facing the region.


Leaders also discussed the implementation of theFive-Point Consensus on Myanmar, and condemned the attack on a convoy of theASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on Disaster Management(AHA Centre) and ASEAN Monitoring Team in Myanmar.

The attendance of the Vietnamese delegation at the event, led by PrimeMinister Pham Minh Chinh, demonstrated Vietnam's active, positive and responsiblecontributions to the ASEAN, the building of the ASEAN Community andintra-bloc solidarity, as well as the settlement of challenges andmaintenance of ASEAN standpoints on international and regional issues.

Speaking to Vietnam News Agency (VNA) correspondents in Jakarta, ASEANSecretary-General Kao Kim Hourn affirmed that since joining the association in1995, Vietnam has made important, productive and positive contributions to the regional group.

He highlighted Vietnam’s fast transformation and outstanding developmentachievements in recent years. With about 100 million people, ranking thirdamong ASEAN member countries in population scale, Vietnam has strong economicpotential with high investment attraction and fast social development, he said,adding that the “S”-shape country is one of the ASEAN members that draws greatattention in investment, tourism and trade.

Meanwhile, Chairman of the ASEAN Business Advisory Council2023 (ASEAN-BAC) Arsjad Rasjid praised Vietnam’s positive contributions tomaterialising economic priorities of ASEAN in 2023.

He said that Vietnam has been an important player inpromoting trade and investment within the region and beyond, as the country hasactively participated in initiatives such as the ASEAN Free Trade Area andrecently expressed interest in joining the cross-border payment connectivitynetwork, which is a positive development for the region's economic integration.According to him, Vietnam's upcoming hosting of the ASEAN Wind Energy 2023event is a significant contribution to the region's renewable energy goals.

At the same time, Timor-Leste Ambassador to IndonesiaFilomeno Aleixo da Cruz said that Vietnam has been a very strong supporter ofTimor-Leste’s ASEAN membership bid since the very beginning of their application.He affirmed that Timor Leste is looking forward to working closely with Vietnamin the future especially in relation to the membership to ASEAN, throughcapacity building programmes and development cooperation./.